Apple, Earnings, and Bears Descend on July 31

The Day's Big Story

AAPL and AMZN report after today's close. It is the most closely watched earnings double-header of the season. Apple's CEO has already confirmed China approved "original" Apple Intelligence features — a boost heading into results. Amazon's cloud and advertising arms are the numbers to watch.

European pharma Sanofi reported this morning, alongside ING and KKR. Tomorrow, CVX reports before the open with oil prices elevated above $100 on US-Iran tensions. Options flow leans bullish on both energy majors.

Bears Build Positions

Short sellers are piling into rental cars. HTZ short interest hit 84.3% of free float — up 10.85 points in seven days. CAR rose 6.6 points to 36.1%. CHWY reached 75.6%, with 460% availability meaning bears can keep adding.

META is facing heavy options skepticism ahead of its own Q2 results. Negative bets dominate weekly flow. The stock is down 11% year-to-date with an RSI of just 41.4.

Macro Concerns Emerge

The FT reports US borrowing costs have hit a 19-year high. The Fed held rates even as markets worry an Iran conflict could reignite inflation. Separately, NYSE owner ICE agreed to buy bond platform MarketAxess in a $5.7bn deal — a major fixed-income market shift.

Insiders Head for the Exit

Major insider sales are piling up. A 10% owner at SAFT sold over $127M in stock. BBRC International dumped $71M in VSXY. At MEDP, CEO August Troendle and EVP Susan Burwig sold a combined $8.8M over two days — two senior insiders selling in tandem is a clear signal worth watching.